Construction zone ticket thrown out

Construction zone ticket thrown out

OKLAHOMA CITY-A warning is being issued to drivers who are going through construction zones; those signs showing which directions you can travel may not always be there.

There are more than 400 construction zones in the metro area and temporary signs are posted until real ones can be replaced.

However, those signs are often moved and can pose a hazard.

It can also land you a ticket for going the wrong way, even if the sign is not there.

Last week, Ray Haggard drove through the intersection on S.W. 44th St. and Western Ave.

After making a left turn, he was pulled over and handed a ticket for $172.

Haggard quickly snapped pictures of the intersection to prove that no signs were actually posted saying it was illegal to make a left turn.

It seems Haggard is not the only one being forced to pay that ticket.

City records show 12 drivers have been issued tickets for improper turns at that intersection in the last month.

It is not known if signs were posted during those incidents.

Paul Bronson, assistant director of Public Works, said, “But with over 400 active project sites in the city, occasionally there’s going to be somewhere a sign is taken down. It’s tossed to the side because they have to make a pavement cut or something and it’s not put up in a timely matter and that’s what happened with this individual.”

The owner of the construction company, who is ultimately responsible for the signs, says he accepts full responsibility for maintaining those traffic signs.

He said he actually hired a subcontractor to keep track of the signs but other factors like tough weather conditions, vandalism and distracted drivers can also effect where the signs are placed.

We’re told the police department called Haggard and told him that ticket is being thrown out.